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“It’s like having a dinner party — you invite people for dinner and sometimes it’s a fun night and sometimes not as fun as you thought it was going to be,” said Cowell onstage Thursday at the Television Critics Association tour, commenting on last year’s judging panel, which included Britney Spears, L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato and Cowell. “It was similar to what everyone else was doing and I had this impatience to go on with Season 3.”

Cowell frequently looked bored on his own show, so he’s retooled the process, including adding former Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland and Mexican singer Paulina Rubio in the mix. Spears and Reid are out, while Lovato remains with Cowell.

Cowell also announced that he would be slashing the $5 million prize, which he once boasted was the richest in all reality television, to $1 million.

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“It was almost too much,” said Cowell, explaining the huge deflation.

Still, Cowell claims that he is still hungry to win ratings.

“Nobody takes part with the idea you’re going to lose,” he said. “You have to listen to fans, and to viewers. You have to be competitive. I’d love to be No. 1. If you have a good panel, good producers, the format is more fun. It just takes one or two special contestants that could change everything.”

This time around Cowell will have to contend with three female judges.

“It’s a girls’ world at the moment in the music business,” he said. “We thought the panel should reflect it.”

Meanwhile, Cowell insisted that making stars was the No. 1 premise of the show. “No show can survive without this,” he insisted. “You’re making a promise to contestants, you’re going to turn them into a real live artist. You can’t guarantee, but that is your commitment. Otherwise it’s a game show.”

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